02 March 2016

There were wild reports a few days ago doing the rounds in the grapevine that claimed Meralco Bolts is trying to peddle their pint-sized point guard Anjo Caram for a high-flying and athletic forward.

However, after five unbeaten games, it became clear that the Bolts will be stupid to even think of letting Caram ride the bench.

He might not be a high-scoring guard in the mold of a Terrence Romeo or Jayson Castro but Meralco team captain Jimmy Alapag – himself one of the best point guards the league has even seen – believes that Caram has earned his spot with his defensive impact and his work ethic.

"Anjo hasn’t had too many opportunities in his career. The fact that there's three of us, me, Baser (Amer) and him sharing the point guard," Alapag told InterAksyon.com in an exclusive interview.

"Anjo is really one of the best on-ball defenders in the league. I know a lot of people hadn't seen him these last few games, but Anjo works really hard. He’s got great work ethic, he’s got great character and I’m happy for him."

Alapag, who has recently returned after missing several games due to a hamstring injury, didn’t mind sharing the spotlight with Caram and Amer, who played major roles against GlobalPort last 28 February.

"I'm just here to help these guys, help this team win in whatever capacity. Tonight, I enjoy being on the side, and Anjo did a great job on Terrence. Terrence is lighting up this league. Terrence might be the best scorer in our league, but he made it difficult for him. Anjo did a great job," Alapag said.

Even Meralco coach Norman Black has taken notice of the efforts of Caram, who helped limit Romeo, the league’s top scorer with an average of 27.0 points per game, to just 18.

"Anjo brings a lot to the table. He’s a good defensive player. You've seen in the last couple of games he did a decent job against RR Garcia and Terrence Romeo. So he definitely has a value as far as the defensive end is concerned. He also hit a couple of crucial shots down the stretch. I’m happy for him," added Black.

For Caram, he believes that when he's matched up against talents like Romeo, it’s about putting forward his best possible effort.

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PBA Advisory

2017 Commissioner's Cup Format

The tournament allows teams to hire foreign players or imports with a height limit of 6-foot-10.

The top 2 teams will earn twice-to-beat edges over Nos. 7 and 8 while the No. 3 against No. 6 and No. 4 versus No. 5 pairing will be a best-of-three affair in the quarterfinals.

The semifinal stage will have a pair of best-of-five matches and the finals will be a race-to-four affair.

Gilas Pilipinas

Manila will host one of the three tournaments in the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The Philippine national men’s basketball team will try to pull off massive upsets against France, New Zealand, Canada, Turkey and Senegal in the competition slated on July 5 to July 10 at Mall of Asia Arena.

A total of 18 teams will participate in the three-nation event whose champions will book tickets to the 2016 Rio Olympics.